Home-grown brand Crystal Jade is one many Singaporeans are familiar with. It is the restaurant chain where Chinese families celebrate birthdays, or head to when craving for Xiao Long Bao, Cantonese barbecued meats, Noodles and Congee.

Crystal Jade Golden Palace was one of the few Chinese restaurants in Singapore awarded the Michelin Star in Singapore.

Some might be wondering, ”Crystal Jade got the Michelin?”

Yes, the Crystal Jade where I always go for my wanton mee got it.

The other talk was many of its similar competitors such as Paradise Group and TungLok Group were left in the cold by the guide.

Perhaps they have yet to visit Crystal Jade Golden Palace, which is pitched at another level compared to the others operated in chain-restaurant fashion.

Once you walked into the Crystal Jade Golden Palace, you would realise the dining space is more luxe- tall ceilings, silvery tablecloth, accent in shades of berry, chandeliers and light stands.

Grander, more extravagant, yet not over-the-top.

Crystal Jade Golden Palace menu is extensive (and can be expensive), with multiple pages dedicated to a variety of premium ingredients from bird’s nest, abalone, Buddha Jumps Over The Wall, to live seafood.

I can actually spend 10 minutes just reading that book of menu (excluding the inserts). It is a high-end Chinese restaurant thing.

After eating, you would realise the ‘skin’ is actually suckling pig crackling. The rice was flavourful, cooked with abalone sauce and infused with truffle for that aromatic whiff.

Having the Baked Lamb Rack with Red Wine & Black Pepper ($18/pc) felt as though as I was in a Western restaurant. You have to use fork and knife for this dish.

The only difference was, the sauce might have been a lot richer and savoury that what you would have otherwise expected. Perhaps wok-frying it also made some difference.

I am not typically a lamb-person, but the doneness was almost-perfect.

The Stir Fried Ramen with Lobster in XO Sauce ($28/half) was the main dish I was half-hearted about – loved the sweet flesh of the Boston Lobster, but thought that the noodles were too soft and limp.

An ingredient commonly seen in Teochew desserts is yam. Therefore, the Sugar Coated Yam ($13), a traditional Teochew dessert dish, where yam sticks are deep fried, coated with caramelised sugar; and Taro Paste with Ginko ($5.80) are worth an order.